Sian Tucker (a textile designer) and James Lynch (a graphic designer) wanted to have a simpler life and start an alternative business. They now run Fforest, a unique campsite in Aerporth, West Wales right by the sea.

‘We had this dream of making some refuges or huts like those you might find on top of a mountain. This proved quite impractical, so we did some research and discovered geodesic domes in the Alps, and Nordic katas [tipis constructed from wooden poles and canvas]. We knew then that we could still follow our dream of creating a campsite that celebrated good, simple living.’ They started with only two geodesic domes (like the one pictured left), five teepees and four nomad tents.

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Each tent is erected on a wooden deck with an adjacent covered kitchen, dining and living area.‘Our idea for Fforest was born out of a love of cooking outside,’ Sian says. There is also a cedar-barrel sauna tucked away in the woods. The emphasis is very much on natural pleasures, community, star gazing and outdoor living. Welsh blankets in the domes are made at a local mill. And woodburning stoves mean no one gets cold at night.

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Seaside bolthole: the chalet
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The site has a sociable space where guests can eat together. The couple also run something called Do Lectures on the site - an annual conference with speakers who inspire action. ‘This is what we wanted – to create something amazing. We like to think that people can come here, kick back and relax. We like to call it the luxury of the simple.’

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Seaside bolthole: the chalet
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Fforest is about living with nature and working with design – an ethos evident on Sian and James’s outdoor terrace. Find a similar table at Bailey’s Home and Garden. The kettle and hurricane lantern are available from Fforest’s online shop. ‘We spent four years looking to move out of London,’ Sian says. Then James began to change career and started buying farmland and warehouses in the Cardigan area to develop. Aberporth was an obvious destination as Sian grew up nearby and her mother still lives there. The couple bought a fisherman’s cottage behind the boatshed on the beach in 1996 to provide accommodation when the couple and their four boys – Jackson, Robbie, Calder and Teifi – visited Sian’s mum. It was nine years before the couple finally made the decision to live there all the time. ‘The transition was really drawn out,’ Sian says, ‘but we could renovate the cottage to create a home without living on a building site.’

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Seaside bolthole: the chalet
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James made the cottage’s kitchen tabletop from old railway sleepers. The oak chairs were bought at a car boot sale and the pendant light is from Caravan. Once the family were living in the cottage full time, they needed more room. So the small living room and tiny kitchen were knocked into one to create a larger area, and a contemporary timber extension provided a much-needed living/dining room that looked out to sea.

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Seaside bolthole: the chalet
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The fire grate is from a house by the Fforest campsite. ‘We reuse and recycle wherever we can,' says James. ‘The staircase and the wooden benches were originally in a London synagogue that was being turned into flats, and most of the furniture in the domes at the campsites has been reupholstered.’ Sian, who enjoys nothing more than curling up in front of a roaring fire on a cold winter’s day with a storm raging outside says,'Decamping to Wales also meant we had to create a whole new interior, as our London home was full of large, modern furniture.'
Find out more about Fforest here.

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Seaside bolthole: the chalet
Small spaces, big ideas
Sofabeds: budget to splurge